So you just got a shiny new DSLR, you rip the box open, charge your battery, slide 8, 16, heck, maybe even 32GB of glory in to that bad boy and fire it up. You put it in full manual mode and start snapping. You”re ready to order up a wall-sized gallery wrap as you hit the playback button, but what”s this? Every photo is either completely black, completely white, or its as blurry as a Monet. You twist some dials, press some buttons, and finally, humbled, you click your mode over to Auto and that dial stays locked for the next 3 months.

Its ok. A lot of people have been there, myself included. But now I”m here to tell you that it doesn”t have to be this way – there is still hope! So take a deep breath and lets figure out just what all those crazy numbers mean.

Exposure

One of the most important elements of a good photo is exposure. Exposure is the amount of light allowed to fall on your sensor (digital) or film (analog). Now when you hear people talk about underexposure and overexposure, that is simply what happens when too much or not enough light is exposed to your film or sensor. Below is an example of 3 different exposures.

“How do I achieve such greatness?” you ask. Well, there are a few components to it.

Shutter Speed

Shutter speed, or exposure time, is pretty much what you expect – the speed of your shutter – or, more accurately, the amount of time your shutter is open and exposing your film or sensor to light. So, as you would expect, a slower shutter speed will give you a more exposure (brighter photo), and a faster shutter speed will give you less exposure (darker photo).

Shutter speed is measured in seconds or fractions of seconds, so when you see 1/30, that means your shutter will be open for one thirtieth of a second, if you see 1/1000, your shutter will be open for one one thousandth of a second, and if you see 1″, your shutter will be open for one second. Your shutter speed can vary from 1/8000 of a second to hours long, depending on your camera.

Your shutter speed will not only effect the brightness of the photo. The slower your shutter speed is, the more blurring will occur on anything moving in the scene. And inversely, a fast shutter speed can freeze extremely fast movement. Both sides of this can be wonderful or a nightmare in certain situations.

Aperture

Aperture is a little more complicated. It took me a while to really grasp how it works but hopefully I can break it down for you.

Aperture is the size of the opening in your lens which allows light to travel through it. Think of it like your eyes. When the a room is dark, your pupils will dilate to allow more light to enter and bright light will make your pupils contract. Aperture works on the same principle.

Now here is where it gets even more confusing. Aperture is measured in F-Stops. The lower the number is (f/1.8, for example), the larger the opening is, and the higher the number (such as f/22), the smaller the opening. Unfortunately, the correct terminology when referring to aperture seems to be counter-intuitive. A low f-stop, such as f/1.8, is referred to as a high aperture, and a high f-stop is referred to as a low aperture. You may need to read that a few times – I know I did.

To avoid this confusion, many people use the terms “open” and “closed” aperture or “wide” and “narrow”. Here”s a graphic to help gather the pieces of your brain.

Like shutter speed, aperture does not only effect light, but also effects your depth of field. A higher aperture (wider opening), will give you a higher depth of field. When you see a photo of someone where the background is completely blurred out, they are using a high aperture setting. The opposite happens with a low aperture. With the opening closed down to just a little speck, almost everything in the scene will be in focus (great for landscape photos). However, you will need a much brighter scene, as not as much light is able to reach the film or sensor.

Why does aperture effect depth of field? Well its all about the cone angle of the light rays, and frankly, it”s pretty complicated, long-winded, and actually involves something called the circle of confusion. So if you”re interested in learning more, I think they do a decent job of explaining it here.

Film Speed (ISO)

Film speed in the digital world is commonly called ISO (International Standards Organisations). Your film speed refers to the film or sensor”s sensitivity to light. Common ISOs range from 50 to 12800. Simply put, the higher your ISO is, the more sensitive to light your sensor or film will be, requiring less light to get a proper exposure.

There is a downside to using a high ISO, however. A high ISO will cause digital noise. It”s kind of like film grain but more pixelated than charming.

Most DSLRs will retain a fairly clean image up to at least 1600, and some high end cameras can look great as high as 6400 or 12800. But every camera is different so I suggest comparing images taken at varying ISOs to find out where your camera stacks up.

So, in short, low ISO will give you a cleaner image, but requires more light. If you must use a high ISO, most cameras have some kind of noise reduction feature and I encourage you to refer to your manual and do some testing. You can also use image processing software such as Photoshop or Lightroom to reduce a certain amount of noise.

Shutter Release Button

PRESS IT – The only way to truly learn is through experimentation and trial and error so get out there and shoot!

If you have any questions or feedback, leave them in the comments below and I”ll do my best to help you out.